01 September 2010

I've been writing for a while about Russia's on-off idea of creating its own GNU/Linux distro. It looks like Ukraine is following suit. Via Google Translate:

its purpose is to optimize the expenditure of budgetary funds and the solution using unlicensed software in state bodies.

According to estimates from officials, the savings of switching apparatus to free software can be 87%.

Among the expected outcomes of the program - improving the legal framework of research on creation and use of open software infrastructure for its development, creation and dissemination, and coordination of state infrastructure using open source software in the bodies derzhvlady, a basic set of localized distribution, adapted to the needs of public authorities.

8 comments:

@Optymystic: call me naive, but I don't think so. If it adheres to the licences, it should be easier enough to rip out anything naughty. I think it's more to do with localisation and particular bits of software that may be required.

As far as I know, the Turkish operating system Pardus was developed partly by the Turkish government and military. Does anyone know of any instances in which Pardus has been used as state control over users? (This is not a rhetorical question; I genuinely want to know if this has happened or not.)--a Linux Mint user since 2009 May 1

I've also posted a review (http://dasublogbyprashanth.blogspot.com/2010/08/comparison-test-newbie-friendly-kde.html) of it on my blog, and it's a really great, user-friendly distribution. but given that the Turkish government will often suppress free expression and such to maintain harmony between the various religious and ethnic groups, I wonder how this affects usage of Pardus in Turkey.--a Linux Mint user since 2009 May 1

I think it's more to do with localisation and particular bits of software that may be required.

I dont think it is a software/localisation thing, Ive installed many a KDE systems recently for elderly eastern european retirees, serbian, russian, ukrainian and polish over the past year. And all are ecstatic of having an OS in their language (and free/gratis to boot!). One actually wanted to know if he could somehow help fill in the translation dept seeing how he had time and he liked the idea that his work would help a community that he hasnt really been part of in over 4 decades. A cyberway of reconnecting with a person he once was is the the way he describres it.

My point is, the decision to roll your own is not a technical one at this point. Most college students I know can do as much.

This is about support infrastructure, procurement, deals (and the well lubed hands which benefit whenever software companies come to visit) lost and so forth.

And no, paranoid Optymystic... stop watching Fox News. Its about state infrastructure using open source software, not state control.

When they say:> adapted to the needs of public >authorities. they dont mean that the only legal Linux to use will be UkeLinux (that's a Novell way of seeing the Linux world).It means the state infrastructure, the govt services and all that would be FLOSS based.And you KNOW what happens when paid proprietary companies are threathened by govts who hint that theyre going Linux?They come and visit and talk_bribe to the local politicos.

If they can save money to the taxpayers of the state by ditching Windows/Office and replace it with FLOSS alternatives which are free-gratis and free-libre, the obvious answer would be 'Let the better choice win.'But its not like that.Its never like that.And even less in eastern europe where the graft is the same as elsewhere on the planet, its just more direct.

I would like governments to help the different desktop projects with the localization projects.

The perfect Russian desktop exists. I know it, Ive installed it on my neighbours computer.His desktop and web experience are Russian.I dont think an official national distro makes much sense for the average user since it really cant bring much more than what other distros offer.

But having a state infrastructure switch to a GNU-Linux environment?Yes, UkiLinux makes perfect sense in that context.

Brazil uses Linux Educacional w/ KDE desktop in all those computer labs theyve been building. I remember reading on placentini's blog that they had built 30,000 labs for 30 million students and that it was going to serve 50 million students in Brazil by the time it was all done.Putting 50 million students of a country on Gnu-Linux is a bold step.So is moving your country's infrastructure to it as well..

My ukranian friend says when govt workers dont want to give service, they always say "Sorry, cant help, the computer is having a virus. Come back next week."So I would figure those employees are definitely not on the pro-linux bandwagon!!

About Me

I have been a technology journalist and consultant for 30 years, covering
the Internet since March 1994, and the free software world since 1995.

One early feature I wrote was for Wired in 1997:
The Greatest OS that (N)ever Was.
My most recent books are Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, and Digital Code of Life: How Bioinformatics is Revolutionizing Science, Medicine and Business.